(NEW YORK) — Five months after a New York judge held Donald Trump liable for committing business fraud, the former president on Monday appealed his $454 million civil fraud case.
Trump and his co-defendants asked New York’s Appellate Division to overturn February’s ruling from Judge Arthur Engoron that found that the former president fraudulently inflated his net worth to secure better business deals.
“It violates centuries of New York case law holding that NYAG cannot sue to vindicate alleged violations that are purely private in nature — and, in this case, do not exist at all,” defense lawyers wrote in a 95-page filing.
Defense lawyers argued that New York Attorney General Letitia James’ case focused on transactions outside the court’s statute of limitations, misapplied the relevant law, and resulted in an excessive financial penalty. Repeating a frequent defense argument from the lengthy trial, defense lawyers argued that the case focuses on profitable transactions without any victims.
“There were no victims and no losses,” defense lawyers wrote. “If Appellants’ conduct constituted ‘fraud’ under § 63(12), then that word has no meaning, and NYAG’s power to seize and destroy private businesses is boundless — and standardless.”
A spokesperson for James said her office is confident the ruling will be upheld on appeal.
“Once again, the defendants are raising arguments that they were already sanctioned and fined for. We won this case based on the facts and the law, and we are confident we will prevail on appeal,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement following the filing, Trump attorney Christopher Kise said, “Such an outrageous miscarriage of justice is profoundly un-American, and a complete reversal is the only means available to restore public confidence in the integrity of the New York judicial system.”
Following an 11-week trial last year, Judge Engoron determined that Trump and his co-defendants — including his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and two top Trump Organization executives — lied about Trump’s net worth on his financial statements by exaggerating the value of properties and other assets to score better business deals.
“The frauds found here leap off the page and shock the conscience,” Engoron wrote in his 92-page decision.
The judge ordered the defendants to pay $464 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, and temporarily banned Trump and his sons from running any New York business.
The massive financial penalty put Trump’s prized properties at risk after defense lawyers warned that securing a $464 million bond was a “practical impossibility” — but New York’s Appellate Division granted a last-minute request to reduce the bond to $175 million, which Trump secured with the help of a California-based insurance company.
In addition to that decision, New York’s Appellate Division has granted Trump’s legal team some favorable rulings, including dismissing claims against his daughter Ivanka Trump last June and delaying some of the penalties imposed in Engoron’s summary judgment decision last fall. However, the Appellate Division also upheld Engoron’s limited gag order against Trump and ultimately denied Trump’s last-minute attempt to further delay the trial last year.
New York Attorney General Letitia James’ response to Trump’s appeal is due on Aug. 21, followed by Trump’s reply on Aug. 30.
The court is scheduled to consider arguments in the appeal during the last week of September.
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